This briefing looks at how government measures the levels of volunteering in the UK (and touches on measurements of civic participation) and suggests there are a number of ways in which the current research methodology is over-estimating the level of volunteers.

“Of course volunteers are active citizens - but so are donors,” insists Saxton“Fundraisers should use indicators of social capital to identify likely donors”, urges SaxtonPeople who donate to charity are also significantly more likely than non-donors to boost “social capital” through greater involvement with local communities - according to new researchLeading not for profit sector think tank and research consultancy nfpSynergy’s Charity Awareness Monitor surveys a representative sample of 1000 16

Build rapport with priority MPs and mobilise public to lobby them locally, parliamentarians tell cash-conscious charities“Avoid the scattergun; think targeted, personal and local,” think tank counsels Over half (55%) of MPs say “building a relationship with 10 key MPs” is the most effective way to spend a limited lobbying budget, with just 3% and 2%, respectively, advising using constrained resources to hire a public affairs agency or run a party conference fringe event - according to figures out today.

Top public charitable gripes: amount actually going to causes, and amount spent on adminPublic least perturbed by charities campaigning for change“Sector must reassure public that income reaches causes and that costs are relatively low and necessary,” vies SaxtonThe public is more put off by how a charity spends its income than how it generates it - according to new research out today.

In one of our newsletters, we asked readers to complete a survey giving us their views on restricted and unrestricted income. We've taken the results from the survey, turned them into charts and created a pdf of the results.

Too few people have specifically addressed the voluntary sector's potential for innovation and the voluntary sector is often left feeling that the only time they can afford the luxury of innovation is when a funder specifically asks for it. It is our hope that this report will provide charities with a greater understanding about what innovation could do for them on a day-to-day basis.

Marked increased in public willingness for charities to invest in fundraising to boost future income“Charities need to better explain the true level of, and rationale for, all their costs,” vies Saxton“Charities should talk about ‘necessary management’, rather than ‘administration’,” Saxton addsThe public are dramatically overestimating charities’ admin and fundraising costs but are more tolerant of the latter - according to new research out today (see the figures by downloading file)

A representative sample of the UK population was asked to identify which of a variety of groups involved with charities was paid or unpaid. The results showed that while the public was right about whether directors and chief executives were paid (around 90% thought they were definitely or probably paid) far less accuracy was seen for trustees and fundraisers (only 8% thought trustees were definitely unpaid and only 6% thought fundraisers were definitely paid).

This study represents a snapshot of how well charities' Regional-HQ relationships are functioning, according to charity employees. The aim of this study was to develop some hard data on this important issue - the first public study of its kind in the UK that we are aware of.

Remember doing exams at school where you just wanted to look other people's answers without the hard work of revising? Well "Mission Impossible" lets you do just that - for other charities' vision statements.

Much of the social dialogue about young people is focused on the behaviour of a minority of troubled young people. While this is understandable in some respects, there is a danger that these individuals are taken to be representative of all young people in Britain.

Running for the Money started out as research into the possible demand for a second marathon in London. However, as results came in, it became clear that the interest in a second London marathon was in fact part of a wider yearning for more accessible, more strategically-planned charity runs throughout the UK.

This report is the conclusion of several years of work by nfpSynergy researching and understanding donors in a whole variety of guises. We hope that the report will enable charities of all sizes to think about the future and the fundraising strategies they will need to maximise income so as to meet the challenges ahead.